Why Isn’t Rolex Considered as One Of ‘The Big Three’?

Among the world brand watches, there are certain subjects that though they come up time and again, never seem to lose their ability to arouse disputes. Date windows are, for one thing, the limited editions are the another, of course, pretty much anything Rolex replica watch is a lightning rod for comments and often, the acrimonious back-and-forth between otherwise civil enthusiasts. Another such subject is the question of the so-called “Big Three” of Swiss watchmaking: Audemars Piguet, Vacheron Constantin, and Patek Philippe (you can say “Holy Trinity” too; some people do).  
There are several questions that can come up in the context of the Big Three; nowadays one is whether or not at this point, there should be a Big Four with the inclusion of A. Lange & Söhne. There are surely historical reasons why the Big Three/Holy Trinity is just who they are but to understand why we have to take a little bit of a longer view. All the Big Three have some similarities, and two points especially stand out.
To begin with, they’ve all been around for a bit longer than most other modern brands, and have all three been in continuous operation since their founding (Replica Lange for instance while a brand I admire essentially without reservation, basically stopped to exist after the end of World War II and the collectivization of the Glashütte watchmakers, and only came back to life as a new independent brand after German reunification).
Second, all three have basically never made anything other than a Haut de gamme luxury product. There have been varying degrees to which this is strictly true for each brand, but by and large, the watches from the Big Three have movements that have been hand-finished to a very high degree using the whole repertoire of traditional finishing methods, which is where 90% of the value-added of Haut de gamme watches has traditionally been. 
The most important we are going to talk about is the Rolex Replica watches. Rolex has never been about the de game manufacturer, nor has it ever tried to be. On the contrary, the replica Rolex’s stock in trade since it was founded by Wilsdorf, has basically been the creation of robust, reliable watches made to very top quality standards, but not to Haut de gamme finish standards. The Rolex fake watch has also never made or sold any of the high complications with the exception of the odd rattrapante chronograph; instead, it has gone for steady, incremental improvements to reliability and precision in basic time-and-calendar wristwatches. 
However none of that means that the fake Rolex is not a respected name – in fact in terms of movement reliability and build quality, the basic quality of materials, and real improvements to reliability and functionality, they are one of the most respected names in watchmaking and their watches are worn and worn happily by many who understand watchmaking right down to its bones.
They have classic good appearance, are versatile, and are made with a level of attention to detail and consistency in quality that is really admirable and the fact that they are not a part of a group whose membership has some historical defensibility, but which is really more of an enthusiast’s casual rule of thumb than a serious classification, should not dissuade anyone from buying a Rolex.